A Valentine's Loss
by The CONFOOZHiNG Nessia
Summary: A day late, but I think you can cope. 'Her heart had been broken on the day of hearts.' Two girls want him. One girl ends up happy, yet the other is heartbroken. My valentine's story to you. Oneshot.


**Author's Note:** See bottom. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own High School Musical. However, I do own this fanfiction, and plagiarizing (sp?) any of this would be very mean. :(

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Troy Bolton flung himself onto the bed, landing on his back, with his head in the middle of the pillow. In his hands was a large paper heart, carefully cut out in bright red paper. Exquisite pastel-pink lace edged the paper shape.

_Dearest Troy,_ the flat read in neat cursive handwriting.

"Dearest," Troy mumbled to himself, closing his eyes for a few seconds. In the top right section of the heart was a date--_February 14, 1999_. Five long years ago he was given this card by the girl who still longed to be his. "Troy..." He could practically hear her voice call his name.

_Have a very happy Valentine's Day!_ it greeted under the first two words, then went on to say, _I just want you to know that I've always wanted to be your sweetheart. Keep this heart, just in case, so you'll remember me._

_Every day I look at you, and I think of how cute you are, and how cute you can get... when you're shy or anxious. How nice you are to everyone. How kind and understanding. Just from watching you, I know that you'll blush when you first read this card. Maybe you'll blush every time you read it. But you look so cute when you do._

_I hope you never forget me. I love you, Troy._

_Sharpay Evans_

And her flawless, flourished signature was followed by a perfectly-drawn heart.

Troy groaned softly. He was torn between two girls, and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it.

"Hey." A feminine voice broke the silence.

"Sharpay?"

"No. Gabriella." She didn't seem at all disturbed that Troy had not been able to identify her by her voice, although she replied with a half-giggle--almost as if she found it slightly humorous. "How are you?"

"Fine," Troy answered, hurriedly stuffing the paper valentine under his pillow. "Why are you here?"

"I'm doing fantastic; thanks for asking." Gabriella stepped forward and took a seat on the edge of his bed. "I wanted to wish you a happy Valentine's Day." She smiled faintly. "You seemed... honestly, you seemed really distraught. I could tell that something was totally bugging you. So... I decided to surprise you, and your mom let me in without even a second thought." Her chuckle was genuine, whereas Troy's was completely phony. And Gabriella could tell.

Troy couldn't be any less enthusiastic about Gabriella's unexpected arrival (even more so, since she wasn't exactly _helping_ by being able to see through him that well--it could only mean she cared about him), and he failed to hide it.

"If you need to," she tried once more, "you can tell me about it. I won't laugh at whatever it is."

Without warning, Troy sat up, leaned toward her, and kissed her tender lips. As the kiss gradually developed, Gabriella's fingers wrapped around the nape of his neck, and Troy's hands were gently placed on the sides of her waist. When air became a necessity Gabriella pulled back, biting on her bottom lip and looking away, trying to hide the inexplicable smile painted on her face.

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Meanwhile, a torn Sharpay Evans stood at the edge of Troy's window. She had watched the young couple and was heartbroken. Allowing her fresh tears to fall freely to the grass under her, she turned around and walked down the sidewalk, sobbing softly. The warm sun pressed against her fair-skinned face. The more she thought about Troy, the more she realized that she had tried far too hard to please him, and then she knew that there were better people for her. A broken smile faced back to the sun, and just as quickly as Sharpay had fallen for Troy, she was over him.

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"Did you feel it?" Troy murmured, trying to achieve eye contact. "Did you hear the fireworks; see the sparks?"

"I did," was the muffled answer.

"You'd feel it more with someone else," he sighed. "I'm a horrible kisser."

"Don't say that, Troy." Gabriella chortled, looking into his brilliantly blue eyes. "You're the best person ever made for me." She beamed, taking a white, fluffy pillow and hugging it. As she lifted the pillow, however, there was a solo red heart laying flat against the area where the pillow _had been_. "Oh, what's this?"

"Uh, no, don't--" Before Troy could grab it, however, it was in Gabriella's hands, and she couldn't take her eyes off of it.

"Troy? Was this why you were so troubled at school today?" Bewildered, she couldn't believe it.

"Of course--I mean... we're only friends, Gabi, right? Sharpay and I have known each other for years. You understand."

Gabriella silently fingered the intricate, lacy pattern surrounding the heart. She opened her mouth to speak as she finished reading the note mentally, but the words, which were meant to be so cold that they burned like fire, caught in her throat, and she swallowed them back down. "I'm sorry," she choked out, rubbing her eyes fiercely, "I don't understand. I just got in the way and messed everything up for you two."

Troy shook his head, grabbing her wrist. "No... but..."

"It's okay, Troy." Gabriella smiled peacefully, pushing her hair away from her face. "You can be with her. I don't understand anything about this. But I don't have to. All I know is that you two've loved each other."

"It's not like that. Not at all, Gabri--"

"I love you," she whispered soberly, kissing his cheek gently. And like a ghost, it seemed as if she had faded out of the room as she pushed through doors and fled down the stairs.

"Gabriella, honey?" Troy's mother touched her arm. "You all right?"

"Mrs. Bolton." Gabriella suddenly realized that she would never be able to call herself by that name. There was no hope for _Mrs. Gabriella Bolton_. "I'm sorry. I must've entered the wrong house."

As her feet pounded the sidewalk farther and farther away from the Boltons' residence, a somber spirit took hold of Gabriella. Troy Bolton seemed to have no more care for her, and no good alibi to cover it up.

Her heart had been broken on the day of hearts.

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_A valentine and a simple misunderstanding, a kiss and two retreats from a boy. Valentine's Day almost always leads to chaos. When things get out of hand, emotional dominoes fall._

_Two different emotions projected from two very different girls. A boy who loses it all. Loveless on this lovely day?_

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**Author's Note:** What did you think? I think it sucked... but you tell me in your reviews. Criticize if it is necessary, I probably deserve it... I only wrote this because I needed to send out a Valentine's story. '


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